Electronic device

ABSTRACT

This application provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes a foldable display, a folding rotating shaft, and at least one camera. The display includes a first display subarea and a second display subarea. The folding rotating shaft is configured to fold or unfold the first display subarea and the second display subarea. The at least one camera is disposed on the rear of the first display subarea. When the first display subarea and the second display subarea are in a folded state, the rear of the first display subarea is opposite to the rear of the second display subarea, and the at least one camera is used as a front-facing camera in the second display subarea. Therefore, the electronic device in the embodiments of this application can support a selfie function, and may also have a relatively high screen-to-body ratio.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/982,442, filed on Sep. 18, 2020, which is anational stage of International Application No. PCT/CN2019/075983, filedon Feb. 23, 2019, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application201810224500.1, filed on Mar. 19, 2018. All of the aforementionedapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the electronic product field, and inparticular, to an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

With continuous evolution and development of an electronic device (forexample, a smartphone or a tablet), a screen of the electronic devicebecomes larger, and the electronic device has more diversifiedfunctions.

However, the larger screen of the electronic device also leads to manyinconveniences to a user. For example, the electronic device is bulkyand not portable.

A solution is to increase a screen-to-body ratio of the electronicdevice while keeping a volume of the electronic device unchanged. Whenthe screen-to-body ratio of the electronic device is a relatively high,even if the electronic device has a relatively large screen, theelectronic device may have a relatively small size. Therefore, itbecomes a research focus to achieve a bezel-less screen whosescreen-to-body ratio is or is close 100%.

However, due to limitations of some functional devices of an existingelectronic device, a screen-to-body ratio of the existing electronicdevice is relatively low and can hardly meet a user requirement.

Therefore, how to increase a screen-to-body ratio of an electronicdevice becomes an urgent problem to be resolved.

SUMMARY

This application provides an electronic device. The electronic devicemay have a relatively high screen-to-body ratio.

According to a first aspect, an electronic device is provided. Theelectronic device includes a foldable display, a folding rotating shaft,and at least one camera, where

the display includes a first display subarea and a second displaysubarea;

the folding rotating shaft is configured to fold or unfold the firstdisplay subarea and the second display subarea;

the at least one camera is disposed on the rear of the first displaysubarea; and

when the first display subarea and the second display subarea are in afolded state, the rear of the first display subarea is opposite to therear of the second display subarea, and the at least one camera is usedas a front-facing camera in the second display subarea.

Specifically, for the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication, a camera is disposed on the rear of the display, instead ofthe front of the display. Because no camera is disposed on the front ofthe display in this embodiment of this application, the electronicdevice in this embodiment of this application may have a relatively highscreen-to-body ratio to meet a requirement of a user for a bezel-lessscreen.

Further, the at least one camera can be used as the front-facing camerain the second display subarea. In other words, the at least one cameracan support a selfie function using the second display subarea.

Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationcan support the selfie function without a camera disposed on the frontof the display. Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment ofthis application not only can support the selfie function, but also canhave a relatively high screen-to-body ratio to meet the requirement ofthe user for the bezel-less screen.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application, afirst display subarea 211 and a second display subarea 212 are in afolded state (in other words, an included angle between the two displaysubareas is 360 degrees), and this may also be expressed as that adisplay 210 is in the folded state or that the electronic device is inthe folded state; a first display subarea 211 and a second displaysubarea 212 are in an unfolded state (an included angle between the twodisplay subareas is 180 degrees), and this may also be expressed as thata display 210 is in the unfolded state or that the electronic device isin the unfolded state; or a first display subarea 211 and a seconddisplay subarea 212 are in a half-unfolded state (or a half-foldedstate) (in other words, an included angle between the two displaysubareas is greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees), andthis may be expressed as that a display 210 is in the half-unfoldedstate (or the half-folded state) or the electronic device is in thehalf-unfolded state (or the half-folded state). This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application,the first display subarea may also be referred to as a first displayarea, and the second display subarea may also be referred to as a seconddisplay area. This embodiment of this application is not limitedthereto.

In a possible implementation, when the first display subarea and thesecond display subarea are in an unfolded state, a ratio of an area ofan entire display area of the display to an area of a first end face ofthe electronic device on which the display is located is greater than afirst screen-to-body ratio, and the entire display area of the displayincludes the first display subarea and the second display subarea.

Specifically, the first screen-to-body ratio may be 90%, 95%, 98%, orthe like. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto. Inother words, in this embodiment of this application, when the firstdisplay subarea and the second display subarea are in the unfoldedstate, a screen-to-body ratio of the electronic device is greater thanthe first screen-to-body ratio.

Specifically, in this embodiment of this application, a screen sizeincreases when the electronic device is in the unfolded state.Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationcan meet a requirement of the user for a large screen. Further, foursides of the screen of the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication can extend to product appearance edges to the greatestextent. For example, the screen-to-body ratio of the electronic devicemay be or be close to 100%. Therefore, the electronic device in thisembodiment of this application can meet the requirement of the user forthe bezel-less screen.

In addition, the display of the electronic device in this embodiment ofthis application can be folded, so that the electronic device has arelatively small volume, and can be easily carried by the user.Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationcan meet the requirement of the user for the large screen in theunfolded state, and can also be easily carried in the folded state. Thiscan improve user experience.

In a possible implementation, when the first display subarea and thesecond display subarea are in the folded state, a ratio (namely, thescreen-to-body ratio of the electronic device in the folded state) of anarea of the first display subarea to an area of a second end face (whichmay also be referred to as a front side of the electronic device in thefolded state) of the electronic device on which the first displaysubarea is located is greater than a second screen-to-body ratio.

Specifically, the second screen-to-body ratio may be 90%, 95%, 98%, orthe like. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto. Inother words, in this embodiment of this application, when the firstdisplay subarea and the second display subarea are in the folded state,a screen-to-body ratio of the front of the electronic device is greaterthan the second screen-to-body ratio. For example, the screen-to-bodyratio of the front of the electronic device may be or be close to 100%.Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationcan meet the requirement of the user for the bezel-less screen.

In a possible implementation, the area of the first display subarea isgreater than an area of the second display subarea;

when the first display subarea and the second display subarea are in thefolded state, the at least one camera is located in a first rear subareaof the first display subarea; and

the rear of the first display subarea includes the first rear subareaand a second rear subarea, the first rear subarea includes an area thatis on the rear of the first display subarea and that does not overlapthe rear of the second display subarea, and the second rear subareaincludes an area that is on the rear of the first display subarea andthat overlaps the rear of the second display subarea.

Specifically, in this embodiment of this application, the at least onecamera is disposed on the rear of the first display subarea. When thedisplay is in the unfolded state, the at least one camera may be used asa rear-facing camera. When the display is in the folded state, the atleast one camera is specifically disposed in a non-overlapping area ofthe two display subareas, namely, the first rear subarea. Therefore, theat least one camera may be used as a rear-facing camera in the firstdisplay subarea, or may be used as the front-facing camera in the seconddisplay subarea. In other words, the at least one camera in thisembodiment of this application may be used as the rear-facing camera, ormay be used as the front-facing camera to take a selfie.

In this embodiment of this application, the at least one camera disposedon the rear of the first display subarea may have two uses, that is, maybe used as the rear-facing camera or may be used as the front-facingcamera. Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, thefront-facing camera may not need to be separately disposed. Therefore,in this embodiment of this application, the selfie function can besupported without a camera disposed on the front of the display.Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationnot only can support the selfie function, but also can have a relativelyhigh screen-to-body ratio to meet the requirement of the user for thebezel-less screen.

In a possible implementation, a body thickness that is of the electronicdevice and that corresponds to the second rear subarea and a bodythickness that is of the electronic device and that corresponds to thesecond display subarea each are a first thickness value; and

a body thickness that is of the electronic device and that correspondsto the first rear subarea is a second thickness value, and the secondthickness value is greater than or equal to the first thickness value.

For example, if the second thickness value is equal to the firstthickness value, the entire electronic device has a same body thicknessin the unfolded state. Because the entire electronic device has a samebody thickness, in this embodiment of this application, in the unfoldedstate, four edges of the electronic device have a same thickness, sothat the user holds the electronic device relatively comfortably andnaturally. Therefore, user experience can be improved.

In a possible implementation, the second thickness value is twice thefirst thickness value.

In this embodiment of this application, because the second thicknessvalue is twice the first thickness value, when the electronic device isin the folded state in this embodiment of this application, a thicknessthat is of the electronic device and that corresponds to the overlappingpart of the first display subarea and the second display subarea istwice the first thickness value, in other words, is equal to the secondthickness value. In other words, in the folded state, an overallthickness of the electronic device does not change, that is, is thesecond thickness value. Because the entire electronic device has a samebody thickness, in this embodiment of this application, in the foldedstate, the four edges of the electronic device have a same thickness, sothat the user holds the electronic device relatively comfortably andnaturally. Therefore, user experience can be improved.

In a possible implementation, the first rear subarea includes a firstarea and a second area, and the at least one camera is disposed in thefirst area;

a body thickness that is of the electronic device and that correspondsto the second area, a body thickness that is of the electronic deviceand that corresponds to the second rear subarea, and a body thicknessthat is of the electronic device and that corresponds to the seconddisplay subarea each are a third thickness value; and

a body thickness that is of the electronic device and that correspondsto the first area is a fourth thickness value, and the fourth thicknessvalue is greater than or equal to the third thickness value.

For example, in the unfolded state, the first area is an area includingone of four corners on the rear of the electronic device. Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

For example, the fourth thickness value is greater than the thirdthickness value. For example, the fourth thickness value is twice thethird thickness value. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication. Specifically, when the fourth thickness is greater than thethird thickness, in the unfolded state, for the overall body thickness,the thickness corresponding to the first area is greater than a bodythickness of the rest part, and the rest part has an equal bodythickness. The first area has a relatively small area. Therefore, in theunfolded state, only a small area, namely, the first area in which theat least one camera is disposed, is a protruding part. The part isrelatively small, and the protruding part is disposed only in a corner.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, in the unfoldedstate, the user can still hold the electronic device comfortably, anduser experience can be improved.

In a possible implementation, the display is a flexible display made ofa flexible material.

In this case, the display may be a whole. In other words, the firstdisplay subarea and the second display subarea cannot be separated, andare a whole. The display may be folded and unfolded under action of thefolding rotating shaft.

In a possible implementation, the display is made of an inflexiblematerial. For example, the display may also be a common display, forexample, a liquid crystal display (liquid crystal display, LCD), anactive-matrix organic light emitting diode (active-matrix organic lightemitting diode, AMOLED), or an organic light-emitting diode (organiclight-emitting diode, OLED). This embodiment of this application is notlimited thereto. In this case, the first display subarea and the seconddisplay subarea are two independent displays. Under the action of thefolding rotating shaft, the first display subarea and the second displaysubarea may be folded together or unfolded on a same plane. In theunfolded state, the two independent displays may be combined into onelarge display, to meet the requirement of the user for the large screen.This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

In a possible implementation, the display is configured to vibrate andmake a sound.

In other words, the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication may support the screen to emit a sound. Therefore, theelectronic device in this embodiment of this application may not need tobe provided with an earpiece. Because no earpiece needs to be disposed,no room needs to be reserved for an earpiece on the front of theelectronic device. Therefore, the display in this embodiment of thisapplication may have a relatively high screen-to-body ratio to meet therequirement of the user for the bezel-less screen.

In a possible implementation, the folding rotating shaft is furtherconfigured to enable the first display subarea and the second displaysubarea to be in a half-unfolded state; and

when the first display subarea and the second display subarea are in thehalf-unfolded state, a first side edge of the first display subarea anda second side edge of the second display subarea are placed on a sameplane to support the electronic device, and the first side edge and thesecond side edge are two separate side edges.

Specifically, in the half-unfolded state, the first display subarea andthe second display subarea may support each other, to stand on a sameplane (for example, on a dining table, an office table, or an exhibitioncounter). Usually, an existing electronic device needs to be furtherprovided with a bracket to stand. However, in this embodiment of thisapplication, in the half-unfolded state, the two display subareas maysupport each other. Therefore, in this embodiment of this application,the electronic device can stand without a separate bracket, and isapplicable to a scenario in which the electronic device is used to playa movie, or is used as a calendar, or is used in a working table, or thelike. Therefore, user experience can be improved.

In a possible implementation, the electronic device further includes:

a detection module, configured to detect a status of the electronicdevice, where the status of the electronic device includes a foldingstatus of the first display subarea and a folding status of the seconddisplay subarea, and a spatial location relationship between the firstdisplay subarea and the second display subarea; and

a processing module, configured to control the first display subareaand/or the second display to display a picture based on the status ofthe electronic device.

Specifically, the folding status may include the folded state, theunfolded state, and the half-unfolded state. The spatial locationrelationship may include that the first display subarea faces upwardsand the second display subarea faces downwards, the first displaysubarea faces downwards and the second display subarea faces upwards,the first display subarea and the second display subarea face a samedirection, or there is an included angle between a direction of thefirst display subarea and a direction of the second display subarea (inother words, the two display subareas are in the half-unfolded state). Avalue of the included angle is greater than 180 degrees and less than360 degrees.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the processing modulemay automatically determine a display form of the display based on thestatus that is of the electronic device and that is detected by thedetection module, in other words, control one or two displays in thefirst display subarea and the second display subarea to display apicture. Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication can determine the display form of the display in auser-friendly manner, and can correspondingly determine a correspondingdisplay form based on an action such as flipping the display of theelectronic device by the user. Therefore, user experience can beimproved.

It should be understood that the detection module in this embodiment ofthis application may include a gravity detection apparatus, a foldingrotating shaft detection apparatus, and the like. This embodiment ofthis application is not limited thereto. The gravity detection apparatusmay detect the spatial location relationship, and the folding rotatingshaft detection apparatus may detect a status of the folding rotatingshaft. Further, a folding status of the first display and a foldingstatus of the second display may be detected. This is not limited inthis embodiment of this application.

It should be understood that the processing module in this embodiment ofthis application may be a processor, and the processing module maydetermine the display form of the electronic device based on the statusthat is of the electronic device and that is detected by the detectionmodule. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, the processor mayinclude one or more processing units. Preferably, the processor mayintegrate an application processor and a modem processor. Theapplication processor mainly processes an operating system, a userinterface, an application program, and the like. The modem processormainly processes wireless communication. It may be understood that themodem processor may not be integrated into the processor.

In a possible implementation, the folding status is the folded state,the spatial location relationship is that the first display subareafaces upwards and the second display subarea faces downwards, and theprocessing module is specifically configured to control the firstdisplay subarea to display a picture; and

the folding status is the folded state, the spatial locationrelationship is that the second display subarea faces upwards and thefirst display subarea faces downwards, and the processing module isspecifically configured to control the second display subarea to displaya picture.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application,“upwards” represents an upward direction perpendicular to a horizontalplane, and “downwards” represents a downward direction perpendicular tothe horizontal plane. It should be noted that in this embodiment of thisapplication, “upwards” and “downwards” may be general concepts. Inactual application, when there is an included angle (the included angleis less than 90 degrees) between the direction of the first displaysubarea and the upward direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane,it may also be referred to as that the first display subarea facesupwards. Similarly, when there is an included angle (the included angleis less than 90 degrees) between the direction of the first displaysubarea and the downward direction perpendicular to the horizontalplane, it may also be referred to as that the first display subareafaces downwards. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

Specifically, in the folded state, one display faces downwards and onedisplay faces upwards, and the user usually cannot view the downwarddisplay. Therefore, the processing module may control one displaysubarea, namely, the upward display, to display a picture. Therefore, inthis embodiment of this application, the downward display is preventedfrom displaying a picture, so that energy consumption of the electronicdevice can be reduced, and user experience can be improved.

In a possible implementation, the folding status is the unfolded state,and the processing module is specifically configured to control thefirst display subarea and the second display to display a picture.

Specifically, in the unfolded state, the two display subareas may form alarge display. Therefore, the processing module may simultaneouslycontrol the two display subareas to display a picture, to meet therequirement of the user for the large screen.

In a possible implementation, the folding status is the half-unfoldedstate, and the processing module is specifically configured to controlthe first display subarea and/or the second display to display apicture.

Specifically, in the half-unfolded state, the processing module maycontrol one display subarea to display a picture, or control two displaysubareas to simultaneously display a picture. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

For example, in an implementation, in the half-unfolded state, theprocessing module may control the first display subarea to display apicture. Because the area of the first display subarea is greater thanthe area of the second display subarea, the first display subarea isused to display a picture, for example, display a movie or a web page.Therefore, user experience can be improved.

For another example, in an implementation, in the half-unfolded state,the processing module may control the first display subarea and thesecond display subarea to simultaneously display a picture.

Specifically, when two users are opposite and the electronic device isplaced between the two users, the processing module may control both thetwo display subareas to display a picture. Therefore, both the two userscan view content displayed in respective corresponding display subareas.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, one machine can beused by two users, and user experience can be improved.

Specifically, in the half-unfolded state, when the processing modulecontrols the first display subarea and the second display subarea tosimultaneously display a picture, the two display subareas may displaysame content. For example, both the two display subareas may display asame movie picture. Optionally, the two display subareas mayalternatively display different content. For example, when the two usersuse different applications, one display subarea displays a picture ofone application, and the other display displays a picture of anotherapplication. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, one machine can beused by two users, and user experience can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the front of a mobile phone in theprior art;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an electronic device in a folded stateaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 3 is a solid figure of an electronic device in a folded stateaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4 is a top view of an electronic device in a folded state accordingto an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of an electronic device in a folded stateaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 6 is a solid figure from the rear of an electronic device in afolded state according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are a front view of an electronic device in anunfolded state according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a solid figure of an electronic device in a half-unfoldedstate according to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 9 is a rear view of an electronic device in an unfolded stateaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a structure of a mobile phoneaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment of this application; and

FIG. 12 is another schematic structural diagram of an electronic deviceaccording to an embodiment of this application.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes technical solutions of this application withreference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the front of a mobile phone in theprior art. The mobile phone 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a display 110,a front-facing camera 120, a rear-facing camera (not shown in thefigure), and the like. The mobile phone shown in FIG. 1 supports aplurality of application functions. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 ,applications displayed on the display 110 include Weather, Stocks,Camera, Gallery, Email, Calculator, Twitter, Tencent, Draft, and thelike. In addition, the mobile phone 100 further has a settings function,and the like. This embodiment of this application is not limitedthereto.

In actual application, a user may use a camera application or anotherapplication that can invoke the camera, to implement a selfie functionby using the front-facing camera 120. To support the selfie function,the mobile phone 100 shown in FIG. 1 needs to be provided with thefront-facing camera 120. Therefore, a screen-to-body ratio of the mobilephone 100 is limited. Consequently, the screen-to-body ratio of themobile phone 100 is relatively low, and it is difficult to meet arequirement of a user for a bezel-less screen.

In view of the foregoing problem, embodiments of this applicationprovide an electronic device. For the electronic device, a camera isdisposed on the rear of the display, instead of the front of thedisplay. Because no camera is disposed on the front of the screen in theembodiments of this application, the electronic device in theembodiments of this application may have a relatively highscreen-to-body ratio to meet a requirement of a user for a bezel-lessscreen.

Further, the display in the embodiments of this application is afoldable display. The display includes a first display subarea and asecond display subarea. When the display is in a folded state, thesecond display subarea is on the rear of the first display subareathrough folding, and both the camera and the second display subarea arelocated on the rear of the first display subarea. In addition, when thefirst display subarea is a main display area, the camera may be used asa rear-facing camera in the first display subarea; and when the seconddisplay subarea is a main display area, the camera can be used as afront-facing camera in the second display subarea. In other words, thecamera can support a selfie function using the second display subarea.Therefore, the electronic device in the embodiments of this applicationcan support the selfie function without a camera disposed on the frontof the display. Therefore, the electronic device in the embodiments ofthis application not only can support the selfie function, but also canhave a relatively high screen-to-body ratio to meet the requirement ofthe user for the bezel-less screen.

For ease of understanding and description, by way of example but notlimitation, the following describes in detail the electronic device inthe embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

It should be understood that the electronic device in the embodiments ofthis application may include a smartphone, a tablet, (personal digitalassistant, PDA personal digital assistant), a computer, a game console,a wearable device, a tablet (portable android device, PAD), and thelike. This is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

It should be understood that an operating system running on theelectronic device may be a Linux kernel-based operating system such asAndroid (Android) in a mobile version, a mobile version of Ubuntu(Ubuntu), or Tizen (Tizen), and a desktop operating system such asWindows, Mac OS, or Linux. However, the present invention is not limitedthereto.

An example in which the electronic device is a mobile phone is usedbelow to describe the electronic device in the embodiments of thisapplication. However, the embodiments of this application are notlimited thereto. When the electronic device is the foregoing anotherdevice, reference may be made to the following descriptions of themobile phone in the embodiments of this application. Examples are notlisted one by one for description in this specification.

The following describes in detail the electronic device in theembodiments of this application with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 .

FIG. 2 is a front view of an electronic device in a folded stateaccording to an embodiment of this application. FIG. 3 is a solid figureof an electronic device in a folded state according to an embodiment ofthis application. FIG. 4 is a top view of an electronic device in afolded state according to an embodiment of this application. FIG. 5 is arear view of an electronic device in a folded state according to anembodiment of this application. FIG. 6 is a solid figure from the rearof an electronic device in a folded state according to an embodiment ofthis application. FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are a front view of an electronicdevice in an unfolded state according to an embodiment of thisapplication. FIG. 8 is a solid figure of an electronic device in ahalf-unfolded state according to an embodiment of this application. FIG.9 is a rear view of an electronic device in an unfolded state accordingto an embodiment of this application.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 , an electronic device 200 inan embodiment of this application may include a foldable display 210, afolding rotating shaft 220, and at least one camera 230.

The display includes a first display subarea 211 and a second displaysubarea 212.

The folding rotating shaft 220 is configured to fold or unfold the firstdisplay subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212.

The at least one camera 230 is disposed on the rear of the first displaysubarea 211.

When the first display subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212are in a folded state, the rear of the first display subarea 211 isopposite to the rear of the second display subarea 212, and the at leastone camera 230 is used as a front-facing camera in the second displaysubarea 212.

Specifically, for the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication, a camera is disposed on the rear of the display, instead ofthe front of the display. Because no camera is disposed on the front ofthe screen in the embodiments of this application, the electronic devicein this embodiment of this application may have a relatively highscreen-to-body ratio to meet a requirement of a user for a bezel-lessscreen.

Further, the at least one camera can be used as the front-facing camerain the second display subarea. In other words, the at least one cameracan support a selfie function using the second display subarea.

Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationcan support the selfie function without a camera disposed on the frontof the display. Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment ofthis application not only can support the selfie function, but also canhave a relatively high screen-to-body ratio to meet the requirement ofthe user for the bezel-less screen.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application,the first display subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212 are inthe folded state (in other words, an included angle between the twodisplay subareas is 360 degrees), and this may also be expressed as thatthe display 210 is in the folded state or that the electronic device isin the folded state; the first display subarea 211 and the seconddisplay subarea 212 are in an unfolded state (an included angle betweenthe two display subareas is 180 degrees), and this may also be expressedas that the display 210 is in the unfolded state or that the electronicdevice is in the unfolded state; or the first display subarea 211 andthe second display subarea 212 are in a half-unfolded state (or ahalf-folded state) (in other words, an included angle between the twodisplay subareas is greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees),and this may be expressed as that the display 210 is in thehalf-unfolded state (or the half-folded state) or that the electronicdevice is in the half-unfolded state (or the half-folded state). Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application,the first display subarea may also be referred to as a first displayarea, and the second display subarea may also be referred to as a seconddisplay area. This embodiment of this application is not limitedthereto.

It should be understood that “first”, “second”, and the like in thisembodiment of this application are merely used for differentiation, andshould not be considered as a limitation on this embodiment of thisapplication. In actual application, “first” and “second” may beexchanged. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the display 210 is configured to vibrateand make a sound.

In other words, the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication may support the screen to emit a sound. As shown in FIG. 2to FIG. 9 , because the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication supports the screen to emit a sound, no earpiece may need tobe disposed. Because no earpiece needs to be disposed, no room needs tobe reserved for an earpiece on the front of the electronic device.Therefore, the display in this embodiment of this application may have arelatively high screen-to-body ratio to meet the requirement of the userfor the bezel-less screen.

It should be understood that FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 show a case in which theelectronic device supports the screen to emit a sound and no earpiece isseparately disposed. Alternatively, the electronic device may beprovided with an earpiece. For example, the earpiece is disposed on therear of the first display subarea. This is not limited in thisembodiment of this application.

Because the earpiece of the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication is disposed on the rear of the first display subarea, noroom needs to be reserved for an earpiece on the front of the electronicdevice. Therefore, the display in this embodiment of this applicationmay have a relatively high screen-to-body ratio to meet the requirementof the user for the bezel-less screen. Optionally, in an embodiment, theat least one camera 230 may include one, two, or more cameras. Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , and FIG. 9 , the at least onecamera 230 may include two cameras: a camera 231 and a camera 232.

Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , and FIG. 9 ,the electronic device 200 may further include a flash 233. Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

It should be understood that FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , and FIG. 9 show only anexample in which the electronic device 200 includes one flash 233.However, this embodiment of this application is not limited thereto. Inactual application, the electronic device 200 may include two or moreflashes.

Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, when thefirst display subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212 are in theunfolded state, a ratio (a screen-to-body ratio of the electronic devicein the unfolded state) of an area of an entire display area of thedisplay 210 to an area of a first end face 240 (which may also bereferred to as the front side 240 of the electronic device in theunfolded state) of the electronic device on which the display 210 islocated is greater than a first screen-to-body ratio, and the entiredisplay area of the display 210 includes the first display subarea 211and the second display subarea 212.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application,the first end face 240 may be the front side of the entire electronicdevice when the electronic device is unfolded. The first end face mayalso be referred to as a first side or a first front side. Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto. The area of thefirst end face is shown by a larger rectangle in a lower position inFIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, and the area of the entire display area of thedisplay is shown by a smaller rectangle in the rectangle of the firstend face in the lower position in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B. The ratio of thearea of the entire display area of the display 210 to the area of thefirst end face 240 of the electronic device on which the display 210 islocated may also be referred to as the screen-to-body ratio of theelectronic device in the unfolded state.

Specifically, the first screen-to-body ratio may be 90%, 95%, 98%, orthe like. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto. Inother words, in this embodiment of this application, when the firstdisplay subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212 are in theunfolded state, the screen-to-body ratio of the electronic device isgreater than the first screen-to-body ratio.

Specifically, in this embodiment of this application, a screen sizeincreases when the electronic device is in the unfolded state.Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationcan meet a requirement of the user for a large screen. Further, foursides of the screen of the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication can extend to product appearance edges to the greatestextent. For example, in the unfolded state, the screen-to-body ratio ofthe electronic device may be or be close to 100%. Therefore, theelectronic device in this embodiment of this application can meet therequirement of the user for the bezel-less screen.

In addition, the display of the electronic device in this embodiment ofthis application can be folded, so that the electronic device has arelatively small volume, and can be easily carried by the user.Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationcan meet the requirement of the user for the large screen in theunfolded state, and can also be easily carried in the folded state. Thiscan improve user experience.

Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , when the firstdisplay subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212 are in the foldedstate, a ratio (namely, the screen-to-body ratio of the electronicdevice in the folded state) of an area of the first display subarea 211to an area of a second end face 250 (which may also be referred to asthe front side 250 of the electronic device in the folded state) of theelectronic device on which the first display subarea 211 is located isgreater than a second screen-to-body ratio.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment of this application,the second end face 250 may be an end face, on which the first displaysubarea is located, of the electronic device when the electronic deviceis folded, and the second end face may also be referred to as a secondside or a second front side. This is not limited in this embodiment ofthis application. The area of the second end face is shown by a largerrectangle on the right in FIG. 2 , and the area of the first displaysubarea is shown by a smaller rectangle in the rectangle of the secondend face on the right in FIG. 2 . The ratio of the area of the firstdisplay subarea 211 to the area of the second end face 250 of theelectronic device on which the display 210 is located may also bereferred to as a screen-to-body ratio that corresponds to the firstdisplay area when the electronic device is in the folded state.

Specifically, the second screen-to-body ratio may be 90%, 95%, 98%, orthe like. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto. Inother words, in this embodiment of this application, when the firstdisplay subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212 are in the foldedstate, the screen-to-body ratio that corresponds to the first displaysubarea of the electronic device is greater than the secondscreen-to-body ratio. For example, in the folded state, thescreen-to-body ratio that corresponds to the first display subarea ofthe electronic device may be or be close to 100%. Therefore, theelectronic device in this embodiment of this application can meet therequirement of the user for the bezel-less screen.

It should be understood that in this embodiment of this application, inthe folded state, most of the first display subarea is flat, and abending position corresponding to the folding rotating shaft is curved.Most of the second end face is also flat, and a position correspondingto the folding rotating shaft is also curved. In other words, theforegoing determined screen-to-body ratio corresponding to the firstdisplay subarea is the ratio of the area of the entire first displayarea (including a curved part and a flat part of the first display area)to an area of the second end face (including a curved part and a flatpart).

Alternatively, in another embodiment, the curved part may not beconsidered when the screen-to-body ratio corresponding to the firstdisplay area is calculated in this embodiment of this application. Inother words, in the folded state, the screen-to-body ratio correspondingto the first display area is a ratio of an area of the flat part of thefirst display area to an area of the flat part of the second end face.This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.

In conclusion, it can be learned that in this embodiment of thisapplication, regardless of the unfolded state or the folded state, ascreen-to-body ratio corresponding to an end face on which the firstdisplay subarea of the electronic device is located is relatively large,for example, may be or be close to 100%. Therefore, regardless of theunfolded state or the folded state, the electronic device in thisembodiment of this application can meet the requirement of the user forthe bezel-less screen.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the area of the first display subarea 211is greater than an area of the second display subarea 212.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , when the first display subarea 211 andthe second display subarea 212 are in the folded state, the at least onecamera 230 is located in a first rear subarea 213 of the first displaysubarea 211.

The rear of the first display subarea 211 includes the first rearsubarea 213 and a second rear subarea 214, the first rear subarea 213includes an area that is on the rear of the first display subarea 211and that does not overlap the rear of the second display subarea 212,and the second rear subarea 214 includes an area that is on the rear ofthe first display subarea 211 and that overlaps the rear of the seconddisplay subarea 212.

Specifically, in this embodiment of this application, the at least onecamera 230 is disposed on the rear of the first display subarea 211.When the display 210 is in the unfolded state, the at least one camera230 may be used as a rear-facing camera. When the display 210 is in thefolded state, the at least one camera 230 is specifically disposed in anon-overlapping area of the two display subareas, namely, the first rearsubarea 213. Therefore, the at least one camera 230 may be used as arear-facing camera in the first display subarea 211, or may be used asthe front-facing camera in the second display subarea 212. In otherwords, the at least one camera in this embodiment of this applicationmay be used as the rear-facing camera, or may be used as thefront-facing camera to take a selfie.

In this embodiment of this application, the at least one camera disposedon the rear of the first display subarea may have two uses, that is, maybe used as the rear-facing camera or may be used as the front-facingcamera. Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, thefront-facing camera may not need to be separately disposed. Therefore,in this embodiment of this application, the selfie function can besupported without a camera disposed on the front of the display.

Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of this applicationnot only can support the selfie function, but also can have a relativelyhigh screen-to-body ratio to meet the requirement of the user for thebezel-less screen.

Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , a body thickness thatis of the electronic device and that corresponds to the second rearsubarea 214 and a body thickness that is of the electronic device andthat corresponds to the second display subarea 212 each are a firstthickness value; and a body thickness that is of the electronic deviceand that corresponds to the first rear subarea 213 is a second thicknessvalue, and the second thickness value is greater than or equal to thefirst thickness value.

Specifically, in this embodiment of this application, the body thicknessthat is of the electronic device and that corresponds to an area inwhich the at least one camera 230 is disposed, namely, the first rearsubarea 213, may be greater than or equal to a body thickness that is ofthe electronic device and that corresponds to another area.

For example, if the second thickness value is equal to the firstthickness value, the entire electronic device has a same body thicknessin the unfolded state. Because the entire electronic device has a samebody thickness, in this embodiment of this application, in the unfoldedstate, four edges of the electronic device have a same thickness, sothat the user holds the electronic device relatively comfortably andnaturally. Therefore, user experience can be improved.

Optionally, in another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , the secondthickness value is twice the first thickness value.

In this embodiment of this application, because the second thicknessvalue is twice the first thickness value, when the electronic device isin the folded state in this embodiment of this application, a thicknessthat is of the electronic device and that corresponds to the overlappingpart of the first display subarea and the second display subarea istwice the first thickness value, in other words, is equal to the secondthickness value. In other words, in the folded state, an overallthickness of the electronic device does not change, that is, is thesecond thickness value. Because the entire electronic device has a samebody thickness, in this embodiment of this application, in the foldedstate, the four edges of the electronic device have a same thickness, sothat the user holds the electronic device relatively comfortably andnaturally. Therefore, user experience can be improved.

The foregoing embodiment of this application describes a case in whichthe body thicknesses corresponding to the second rear subarea 214 andthe first display subarea 212 of the electronic device are equal, thatis, each are the first thickness value. Alternatively, a body thicknessvalue corresponding to the second rear subarea 214 may not be equal to abody thickness value corresponding to the first display subarea 212. Forexample, the body thickness value corresponding to the second rearsubarea 214 is greater than or less than the body thickness valuecorresponding to the first display subarea 212. Further, in anotherembodiment, a sum of the body thickness value corresponding to thesecond rear subarea 214 and the body thickness value corresponding tothe first display subarea 212 is equal to the body thickness valuecorresponding to the first rear subarea 214.

Because the sum of the body thickness value corresponding to the secondrear subarea 214 and the body thickness value corresponding to the firstdisplay subarea 212 is equal to the body thickness value correspondingto the first rear subarea 214, in the folded state, the overallthickness of the electronic device does not change, that is, is equal tothe body thickness value corresponding to the first rear subarea 214.Because the entire electronic device has a same body thickness, in thisembodiment of this application, in the folded state, the four edges ofthe electronic device have a same thickness, so that the user holds theelectronic device relatively comfortably and naturally. Therefore, userexperience can be improved.

The foregoing limits a case in which a thickness of the first rearsubarea is the second thickness value. Optionally, the first rearsubarea may be divided into a first area and a second area, and a bodythickness corresponding to the first area may be the same as ordifferent from a body thickness corresponding to the second area.

Specifically, in another embodiment, the first rear subarea 213 includesa first area and a second area, and the at least one camera is disposedin the first area;

a body thickness that is of the electronic device and that correspondsto the second area, a body thickness that is of the electronic deviceand that corresponds to the first rear subarea 213, and a body thicknessthat is of the electronic device and that corresponds to the seconddisplay subarea 212 each are a third thickness value; and a bodythickness that is of the electronic device and that corresponds to thefirst area is a fourth thickness value, and the fourth thickness valueis greater than or equal to the third thickness value.

For example, in the unfolded state, the first area is an area includingone of four corners on the rear of the electronic device. Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

For example, the fourth thickness value is greater than the thirdthickness value. For example, the fourth thickness value is twice thethird thickness value. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

Specifically, when the fourth thickness is greater than the thirdthickness, in the unfolded state, for the overall body thickness, thethickness corresponding to the first area is greater than a bodythickness of the rest part, and the rest part has an equal bodythickness. The first area has a relatively small area. Therefore, in theunfolded state, only a small area, namely, the first area in which theat least one camera is disposed, is a protruding part. The part isrelatively small, and the protruding part is disposed only in a corner.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, in the unfoldedstate, the user can still hold the electronic device comfortably, anduser experience can be improved.

Optionally, in an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 , the folding rotatingshaft is configured to enable the first display subarea 211 and thesecond display subarea 212 to be in a half-unfolded state; and when thefirst display subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212 are in thehalf-unfolded state, a first side edge 217 of the first display subareaand a second side edge 218 of the second display subarea are placed on asame plane to support the electronic device, and the first side edge 217and the second side edge 218 are two separate side edges.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8 , in the half-unfolded state, the firstdisplay subarea 211 and the second display subarea 212 may support eachother, to stand on a same plane (for example, on a dining table, anoffice table, or an exhibition counter). Usually, an existing electronicdevice needs to be further provided with a bracket to stand. However, inthis embodiment of this application, in the half-unfolded state, the twodisplay subareas may support each other. Therefore, in this embodimentof this application, the electronic device can stand without a separatebracket, and is applicable to a scenario in which the electronic deviceis used to play a movie, or is used as a calendar, or is used in aworking table, or the like. Therefore, user experience can be improved.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the display is a flexible display made ofa flexible material.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 , the display 210 is a whole.In other words, the electronic device has only one foldable display 210.In other words, the first display subarea 211 and the second displaysubarea 212 cannot be separated, and are a whole. The display 210 may befolded and unfolded under action of the folding rotating shaft 220.

It should be understood that FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 show a case in which thedisplay of the electronic device is a flexible display. In other words,the display of the electronic device may be bent. However, thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

For example, alternatively, in an embodiment, the display may also be acommon display, for example, a liquid crystal display (liquid crystaldisplay, LCD), an active-matrix organic light emitting diode(active-matrix organic light emitting diode, AMOLED), or an organiclight-emitting diode (organic light-emitting diode, OLED). Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto. In this case, thefirst display subarea and the second display subarea may be twoindependent displays. Under the action of the folding rotating shaft,the first display subarea and the second display subarea may be foldedtogether or unfolded on a same plane. In the unfolded state, the twoindependent displays may be combined into one large display, to meet therequirement of the user for the large screen. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the electronic device further includes adetection module and a processing module (not shown in the figure).

Specifically, the detection module is configured to detect a status ofthe electronic device. The status of the electronic device includes afolding status of the first display subarea and a folding status of thesecond display subarea, and a spatial location relationship between thefirst display subarea and the second display subarea.

The processing module is configured to control the first display subareaand/or the second display to display a picture based on the status ofthe electronic device.

Specifically, the folding status may include the folded state, theunfolded state, and the half-unfolded state. The spatial locationrelationship may include that the first display subarea faces upwardsand the second display subarea faces downwards, the first displaysubarea faces downwards and the second display subarea faces upwards,the first display subarea and the second display subarea face a samedirection, or there is an included angle between a direction of thefirst display subarea and a direction of the second display subarea (inother words, the two display subareas are in the half-unfolded state). Avalue of the included angle is greater than 180 degrees and less than360 degrees.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the processing modulemay automatically determine a display form of the display based on thestatus that is of the electronic device and that is detected by thedetection module, in other words, control one or two displays in thefirst display subarea and the second display subarea to display apicture. Therefore, the electronic device in this embodiment of thisapplication can determine the display form of the display in auser-friendly manner, and can correspondingly determine a correspondingdisplay form based on an action such as flipping the display of theelectronic device by the user. Therefore, user experience can beimproved.

It should be understood that the detection module in this embodiment ofthis application may include a gravity detection apparatus, a foldingrotating shaft detection apparatus, and the like. This embodiment ofthis application is not limited thereto. The gravity detection apparatusmay detect the spatial location relationship, and the folding rotatingshaft detection apparatus may detect a status of the folding rotatingshaft. Further, a folding status of the first display and a foldingstatus of the second display may be detected. This is not limited inthis embodiment of this application.

It should be understood that the processing module in this embodiment ofthis application may be a processor, and the processing module maydetermine the display form of the electronic device based on the statusthat is of the electronic device and that is detected by the detectionmodule. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, the processor mayinclude one or more processing units. Preferably, the processor mayintegrate an application processor and a modem processor. Theapplication processor mainly processes an operating system, a userinterface, an application program, and the like. The modem processormainly processes wireless communication. It may be understood that themodem processor may not be integrated into the processor.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the folding status is the folded state,the spatial location relationship is that the first display subareafaces upwards and the second display subarea faces downwards, and theprocessing module is specifically configured to control the firstdisplay subarea to display a picture.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the folding status is the folded state,the spatial location relationship is that the second display subareafaces upwards and the first display subarea faces downwards, and theprocessing module is specifically configured to control the seconddisplay subarea to display a picture.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application,“upwards” represents an upward direction perpendicular to a horizontalplane, and “downwards” represents a downward direction perpendicular tothe horizontal plane. It should be noted that in this embodiment of thisapplication, “downwards” and “downwards” may be general concepts. Inactual application, when there is an included angle (the included angleis less than 90 degrees) between the direction of the first displaysubarea and the upward direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane,it may also be referred to as that the first display subarea facesupwards. Similarly, when there is an included angle (the included angleis less than 0 degrees) between the direction of the first displaysubarea and the downward direction perpendicular to the horizontalplane, it may also be referred to as that the first display subareafaces downwards. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

Specifically, in the folded state, one display faces downwards and onedisplay faces upwards, and the user usually cannot view the downwarddisplay. Therefore, the processing module may control one displaysubarea, namely, the upward display, to display a picture. Therefore, inthis embodiment of this application, the downward display is preventedfrom displaying a picture, so that energy consumption of the electronicdevice can be reduced, and user experience can be improved.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the folding status is the unfolded state,and the processing module is specifically configured to control thefirst display subarea and the second display to display a picture.

Specifically, in the unfolded state, the two display subareas may form alarge display. Therefore, the processing module may simultaneouslycontrol the two display subareas to display a picture, to meet therequirement of the user for the large screen.

The folding status is the half-unfolded state, and the processing moduleis specifically configured to control the first display subarea and/orthe second display to display a picture.

Specifically, in the half-unfolded state, the processing module maycontrol one display subarea to display a picture, or control two displaysubareas to simultaneously display a picture. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

For example, in an implementation, in the half-unfolded state, theprocessing module may control the first display subarea to display apicture. Because the area of the first display subarea is greater thanthe area of the second display subarea, the first display subarea isused to display a picture, for example, display a movie or a web page.Therefore, user experience can be improved.

For another example, in an implementation, in the half-unfolded state,the processing module may control the first display subarea and thesecond display subarea to simultaneously display a picture.

Specifically, when two users are opposite and the electronic device isplaced between the two users, the processing module may control both thetwo display subareas to display a picture. Therefore, both the two userscan view content displayed in respective corresponding display subareas.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, one machine can beused by two users, and user experience can be improved.

Specifically, in the half-unfolded state, when the processing modulecontrols the first display subarea and the second display subarea tosimultaneously display a picture, the two display subareas may displaysame content. For example, both the two display subareas may display asame movie picture. Optionally, the two display subareas mayalternatively display different content. For example, when the two usersuse different applications, one display subarea displays a picture ofone application, and the other display displays a picture of anotherapplication. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, one machine can beused by two users, and user experience can be improved.

It should be understood that the foregoing describes a specific case inwhich the processing module is configured to control the first displaysubarea and/or the second display to display a picture based on thestatus of the electronic device. Optionally, in actual application, theprocessing module may alternatively select, according to an instructionentered by the user, the first display subarea and/or the second displaysubarea to display a picture. This embodiment of this application is notlimited thereto.

It should be noted that content in the embodiments of the presentinvention may be combined with each other, and this embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that the examples in FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 are merelyintended to help a person skilled in the art understand the embodimentsof the present invention, instead of limiting the embodiments of thepresent invention to illustrated specific values or specific scenariosin the examples. A person skilled in the art can definitely make variousequivalent modifications or changes according to the examples shown inFIG. 2 to FIG. 9 , and such modifications or changes also fall withinthe scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

For example, FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 show a case in which when the display ofthe electronic device is in the unfolded state and is directly facing areader of the application document, and the first display subarea doesnot move, the second display subarea and the first display subarea canbe folded together only when the second display subarea on the left isrotated in a clockwise direction. However, this embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto. For example, in this embodiment ofthis application, a reverse direction may also be used. To be specific,when a relatively large display subarea does not move, a relativelysmall display subarea rotates counterclockwise from a right side toimplement the folded state. Correspondingly, in this case, a position ofthe camera also needs to be correspondingly adjusted.

The following describes a structure of a mobile phone in the embodimentsof this application by using an example in which the electronic deviceis a mobile phone. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a partial structure ofa mobile phone 900 according to an embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 10 , the mobile phone 900 includes components such asa radio frequency (Radio Frequency, RF) circuit 910, a power supply 920,a processor 930, a memory 940, an input unit 950, a display unit 960, asensor 970, an audio circuit 980, a wireless fidelity (wirelessfidelity, WiFi) module 990, and at least one camera 911. A personskilled in the art may understand that the structure of the mobile phoneshown in FIG. 10 constitutes no limitation on the mobile phone. Themobile phone may include more or fewer components than those shown inthe figure, may combine some components, or may have different componentarrangements.

The following describes the components of the mobile phone 900 in detailwith reference to FIG. 10 .

The RF circuit 910 may be configured to receive and send a signal in aninformation receiving and sending process or a call process. Inparticular, after receiving downlink information from a base station,the RF circuit 910 sends the downlink information to the processor 930for processing. In addition, the RF circuit 910 sends uplink data of themobile phone to the base station. Usually, the RF circuit includes butis not limited to an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, acoupler, a low noise amplifier (Low Noise Amplifier, LNA), a duplexer,and the like. In addition, the RF circuit 910 may further communicatewith a network and another device through wireless communication. Anycommunications standard or protocol may be used for the wirelesscommunication, including but not limited to global system for mobilecommunications (Global System of Mobile communication, GSM), generalpacket radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS), code divisionmultiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), wideband codedivision multiple access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access,WCDMA), long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE), an email, shortmessage service (short messaging service, SMS), and the like.

The memory 940 may be configured to store a software program and amodule. By running the software program and the module stored in thememory 940, the processor 930 executes various function applications anddata processing of the mobile phone 900. The memory 940 may mainlyinclude a program storage area and a data storage area. The programstorage area may store an operating system, an application programrequired for at least one function (such as a sound playback function oran image playback function), and the like. The data storage area maystore data (such as audio data or a phone book) created according to useof the mobile phone 900, and the like. In addition, the memory 940 mayinclude a high-speed random access memory, or may include a nonvolatilememory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, a flashstorage device, or another volatile solid-state storage device.

The input unit 950 may be configured to: receive entered digit orcharacter information, and generate key signal input related to usersetting and function control of the mobile phone 900. Specifically, theinput unit 950 may include a touch panel 951 and other input devices952. The touch panel 951, also referred to as a touchscreen, may collecta touch operation (for example, an operation performed by a user on thetouch panel 951 or near the touch panel 951 by using any proper objector accessory such as a finger or a stylus) performed by the user on ornear the touch panel 951, and drive a corresponding connection apparatusbased on a preset program. Optionally, the touch panel 951 may includetwo parts: a touch detection apparatus and a touch controller. The touchdetection apparatus detects a touch direction of the user, detects asignal brought by the touch operation, and transmits the signal to thetouch controller. The touch controller receives touch information fromthe touch detection apparatus, converts the touch information into touchcoordinates, then sends the touch coordinates to the processor 930, andcan receive and execute a command sent by the processor 930. Inaddition, the touch panel 951 may be implemented in a plurality oftypes, such as a resistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared type,and a surface acoustic wave type. The input unit 950 may include otherinput devices 952 in addition to the touch panel 951. Specifically, theother input devices 952 may include but are not limited to one or moreof a physical keyboard, a function key (for example, a volume controlkey or an on/off key), a trackball, a mouse, a joystick, and the like.

The display unit 960 may be configured to display information entered bythe user or information provided for the user and various menus of themobile phone 900. The display unit 960 may include a display panel 961.Optionally, the display panel 961 may be configured in a form of an LCD,an OLED, or the like. Further, the touch panel 951 may cover the displaypanel 961. When detecting a touch operation on or near the touch panel951, the touch panel 951 transmits the touch operation to the processor930 to determine a type of a touch event, and then the processor 930provides a corresponding visual output on the display panel 961 based onthe type of the touch event. In FIG. 10 , the touch panel 951 and thedisplay panel 961 are used as two independent components to implementinput and input functions of the mobile phone 900. However, in someembodiments, the touch panel 951 and the display panel 961 may beintegrated to implement the input and output functions of the mobilephone 900.

It should be understood that, in a possible implementation, the touchpanel 951 and the display panel 961 in this embodiment of thisapplication are foldable. For example, the touch panel 951 and thedisplay panel 961 are made of a flexible material. In this embodiment ofthis application, the touch panel and the display panel may becollectively referred to as a display. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto. The display may include a firstdisplay subarea and a second display subarea. Optionally, the mobilephone in this embodiment of this application may further include afolding rotating shaft (not shown in the figure), and the foldingrotating shaft is configured to fold or unfold the first display subareaand the second display subarea.

The mobile phone 900 may further include at least one sensor 970, forexample, a light sensor, a motion sensor, and another sensor, forexample, an accelerometer sensor (which may also be referred to as agravity detection apparatus) and a folding rotating shaft sensor (whichmay also be referred to as a folding rotating shaft detectionapparatus). Specifically, the light sensor may include an ambient lightsensor and a proximity sensor. The ambient light sensor may adjustluminance of the display panel 961 based on brightness of ambient light,and when the mobile phone 900 approaches an ear, the proximity sensormay turn off the display panel 961 and/or backlight. As one type ofmotion sensor, the accelerometer sensor (which may also be referred toas a gravity sensor) may detect magnitudes of acceleration in differentdirections (usually three axes), may detect magnitude and a direction ofgravity in a static state, or may be used in an application foridentifying a mobile phone posture (such as switching between ahorizontal screen and a vertical screen, a spatial location relationshipbetween two display subareas, a related game, and magnetometer posturecalibration), a function related to vibration identification (such as apedometer or a knock), or the like. The folding rotating shaft detectionapparatus may detect a status of the folding rotating shaft, and furtherdetect a folding status of the first display and a folding status of thesecond display. This embodiment of this application is not limitedthereto. Other sensors such as a gyroscope, a barometer, a hygrometer, athermometer, and an infrared sensor may be configured in the mobilephone 900, and details are not described herein.

The audio circuit 980, a speaker 981, and a microphone 982 may providean audio interface between the user and the mobile phone 900. The audiocircuit 980 may convert received audio data into an electrical signaland then transmit the electrical signal to the speaker 981, and thespeaker 981 converts the electrical signal into an audio signal foroutputting. In addition, the microphone 982 converts a captured audiosignal into an electrical signal, and the audio circuit 980 receives theelectrical signal and converts the electrical signal into audio data andthen outputs the audio data to the RF circuit 910; and then the audiodata is transmitted to another mobile phone, or the audio data is outputto the memory 940 for further processing. In a possible implementation,functions of components such as the speaker 981 and the microphone 982may be integrated into another component, to save hardware space, and/orincrease a screen-to-body ratio of a bezel-less screen.

WiFi is a short-range wireless transmission technology. By using theWi-Fi module 990, the mobile phone 900 may help the user send andreceive an email, browse a web page, access streaming media, and thelike. The WiFi module 990 provides wireless access to the broadbandinternet for the user. Although FIG. 1 shows the WiFi module 990, it maybe understood that the WiFi module 190 is not a necessary part of themobile phone 900, and may be omitted according to a need withoutchanging the essence of the present invention.

The at least one camera 911 may be disposed on the rear of the firstdisplay subarea. When the first display subarea and the second displaysubarea are in a folded state, the rear of the first display subarea isopposite to the rear of the second display subarea, and the at least onecamera is used as a front-facing camera in the second display subarea.

The processor 930 is a control center of the mobile phone 900, isconnected to various parts of the entire mobile phone by using variousinterfaces and lines, and executes various functions of the mobile phone900 and performs data processing by running or executing the softwareprogram and/or the module stored in the memory 940 and invoking datastored in the memory 940, so as to implement various mobile phone-basedservices. For example, the processor 930 may control the first displaysubarea and/or the second display to display a picture based on a statusthat is of the electronic device and that is detected by a detectionmodule, for example, the gravity detection apparatus and the foldingrotating shaft detection apparatus. Optionally, the processor 930 mayinclude one or more processing units. Preferably, an applicationprocessor and a modem processor may be integrated into the processor930. The application processor mainly processes an operating system, auser interface, an application program, and the like. The modemprocessor mainly processes wireless communication. It may be understoodthat the modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 930.

The mobile phone 900 further includes the power supply 920 (such as abattery) that supplies power to each component. Preferably, the powersupply may be logically connected to the processor 930 by using a powersupply management system, thereby implementing functions such ascharging management, discharging management, and power consumptionmanagement by using the power supply management system.

A Bluetooth module and the like, although not shown, may further beincluded in the mobile phone 900, and details are not described hereinagain.

The following describes a display method applied to an electronic devicein an embodiment of this application. The electronic device is anyelectronic device in the foregoing embodiments of this application.Specifically, the method may be performed by a processing module of theelectronic device. It should be understood that a picture displayed bythe electronic device may be a picture of an application, or may be apicture taken by the at least one camera. When the picture taken by theat least one camera is displayed by using the second display subarea,this case may correspond to a selfie scenario of a user. This is notlimited in this embodiment of this application. Specifically, the methodincludes the following steps:

detecting a status of the electronic device, where the status of theelectronic device includes a folding status of the first display subareaand a folding status of the second display subarea, and a spatiallocation relationship between the first display subarea and the seconddisplay subarea; and

controlling the first display subarea and/or the second display todisplay a picture based on the status of the electronic device.

Specifically, the folding status may include the folded state, anunfolded state, and a half-unfolded state. The spatial locationrelationship may include that the first display subarea faces upwardsand the second display subarea faces downwards, the first displaysubarea faces downwards and the second display subarea faces upwards,the first display subarea and the second display subarea face a samedirection, or there is an included angle between a direction of thefirst display subarea and a direction of the second display subarea (inother words, the two display subareas are in the half-unfolded state). Avalue of the included angle is greater than 180 degrees and less than360 degrees.

Specifically, the processing module may obtain a status that is of theelectronic device and that is detected by a detection module, andautomatically determine a display form of the display based on thestatus of the electronic device, in other words, control one or twodisplays in the first display subarea and the second display subarea todisplay a picture. Therefore, the electronic device in this embodimentof this application can determine the display form of the display in auser-friendly manner, and can correspondingly determine a correspondingdisplay form based on an action such as flipping the display of theelectronic device by the user. Therefore, user experience can beimproved.

It should be understood that, for descriptions of the detection moduleand the processing module, refer to the foregoing descriptions. Detailsare not described herein again.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the folding status is the folded state,the spatial location relationship is that the first display subareafaces upwards and the second display subarea faces downwards, and thecontrolling the first display subarea and/or the second display todisplay a picture based on the status of the electronic device includes:

controlling the first display subarea to display a picture based on thestatus of the electronic device.

Alternatively, in an embodiment, the folding status is the folded state,the spatial location relationship is that the second display subareafaces upwards and the first display subarea faces downwards, and thecontrolling the first display subarea and/or the second display todisplay a picture based on the status of the electronic device includes:

controlling the second display subarea to display a picture based on thestatus of the electronic device.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of this application,“upwards” represents an upward direction perpendicular to a horizontalplane, and “downwards” represents a downward direction perpendicular tothe horizontal plane. It should be noted that in this embodiment of thisapplication, “downwards” and “downwards” may be general concepts. Inactual application, when there is an included angle (the included angleis less than 90 degrees) between a direction of the first displaysubarea and the upward direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane,it may also be referred to as that the first display subarea facesupwards. Similarly, when there is an included angle (the included angleis less than 90 degrees) between the direction of the first displaysubarea and the downward direction perpendicular to the horizontalplane, it may also be referred to as that the first display subareafaces downwards. This is not limited in this embodiment of thisapplication.

Specifically, in the folded state, one display faces downwards and onedisplay faces upwards, and the user usually cannot view the downwarddisplay. Therefore, the processing module may control one displaysubarea, namely, the upward display, to display a picture. Therefore, inthis embodiment of this application, the downward display is preventedfrom displaying a picture, so that energy consumption of the electronicdevice can be reduced, and user experience can be improved.

Alternatively, in an embodiment, the folding status is the folded state,and the controlling the first display subarea and/or the second displayto display a picture based on the status of the electronic deviceincludes:

controlling the first display subarea and the second display to displaya picture based on the status of the electronic device.

Specifically, in the unfolded state, the two display subareas may form alarge display. Therefore, the processing module may simultaneouslycontrol the two display subareas to display a picture, to meet arequirement of the user for a large screen.

Alternatively, in an embodiment, the folding status is the half-unfoldedstate. Specifically, in the half-unfolded state, the processing modulemay control one display subarea to display a picture, or control twodisplay subareas to simultaneously display a picture. This embodiment ofthis application is not limited thereto.

For example, in an implementation, in the half-unfolded state, thecontrolling the first display subarea and/or the second display todisplay a picture based on the status of the electronic device includes:

controlling the first display subarea to display a picture based on thestatus of the electronic device.

Because an area of the first display subarea is greater than an area ofthe second display subarea, the first display subarea is used to displaya picture, for example, display a movie or a web page. Therefore, userexperience can be improved.

For another example, in an implementation, in the half-unfolded state,the controlling the first display subarea and/or the second display todisplay a picture based on the status of the electronic device includes:

controlling the first display subarea and the second display subarea tosimultaneously display a picture based on the status of the electronicdevice.

Specifically, when two users are opposite and the electronic device isplaced between the two users, the processing module may control both thetwo display subareas to display a picture. Therefore, both the two userscan view content displayed in respective corresponding display subareas.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, one machine can beused by two users, and user experience can be improved.

Specifically, in the half-unfolded state, when the processing modulecontrols the first display subarea and the second display subarea tosimultaneously display a picture, the two display subareas may displaysame content. For example, both the two display subareas may display asame movie picture. Optionally, the two display subareas mayalternatively display different content. For example, when the two usersuse different applications, one display subarea displays a picture ofone application, and the other display displays a picture of anotherapplication. This is not limited in this embodiment of this application.Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, one machine can beused by two users, and user experience can be improved.

For example, the user uses the electronic device. When the electronicdevice is in the folded state, the first display subarea faces upwards,and the first display subarea displays a picture taken by a camera (inthis case, the camera is used as a rear-facing camera in the firstdisplay subarea), after the user flips the electronic device, the seconddisplay subarea faces upwards, after obtaining this state, theprocessing module may switch the displayed picture from the firstdisplay subarea to the second display subarea, in other words, display aselfie of the user by using the second display subarea (in this case,the camera is used as the rear-facing camera in the first displaysubarea).

The foregoing describes a specific case in which the processing moduleis configured to control the first display subarea and/or the seconddisplay to display a picture based on the status of the electronicdevice.

Alternatively, in actual application, the processing module mayalternatively select, according to an instruction entered by the user,the first display subarea and/or the second display subarea to display apicture. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto. Forexample, when the electronic device is in the folded state, and thefirst display subarea displays a picture taken by a camera (in thiscase, the camera is used as a rear-facing camera in the first displaysubarea), after the user taps a switching button (for example, a buttonfor switching the camera or switching a displayed picture) displayed inthe first display subarea, after obtaining an instruction of the user,the processing module may switch the displayed picture from the firstdisplay subarea to the second display subarea. In addition, the userflips the electronic device to display a selfie displayed in the seconddisplay subarea (in this case, the camera is used as the rear-facingcamera in the first display subarea).

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the at least onecamera of the electronic device may be used as the rear-facing camera inthe first display subarea, or may be used as a front-facing camera inthe second display subarea. In other words, the at least one camera inthis embodiment of this application may be used as the rear-facingcamera, or may be used as the front-facing camera to take a selfie. Inthis embodiment of this application, the at least one camera disposed onthe rear of the first display subarea may have two uses, that is, may beused as the rear-facing camera or may be used as the front-facingcamera. Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, thefront-facing camera may not need to be separately disposed. Therefore,in this embodiment of this application, the selfie function can besupported when no camera is disposed on the front of the display.Because no camera is disposed on the front of the display, theelectronic device in this application may also have a relatively highscreen-to-body ratio to meet a requirement of the user for a bezel-lessscreen.

In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, a lengthof a folding rotating shaft of an electronic device 200 matches a lengthof a long side of the electronic device 200, so that the electronicdevice 200 uses the folding rotating shaft, to fold a short side partinto two parts: an upper part and a lower part. That the length of thefolding rotating shaft of the electronic device 200 matches the lengthof the long side of the electronic device 200 may be that the length ofthe folding rotating shaft is the same as or close to the length valueof the long side. Alternatively, it is understood that a length value ofthe folding rotating shaft is closer to a length value of the long side.Alternatively, in an implementation, as shown in FIG. 5 , a length of afolding rotating shaft of an electronic device 200 is not less than awidth of a folded mobile phone. In this case, lengths that are of a longside and a short side of the electronic device 200 when the electronicdevice 200 is in an unfolded state may be close to each other, or maydiffer greatly.

In a possible implementation, the electronic device 200 may be furtherprovided with an accommodating groove, configured to accommodate anaccessory. For example, as shown in FIG. 11 , a protrusion part (an areawhose thickness is a second thickness value, or an area corresponding toa first rear subarea 213) on the rear of a first display subarea 211 ofan electronic device 200 may include an accommodating groove 1001, andthe accommodating groove 1001 may be used to accommodate a stylus 1002.When the user uses the stylus 1002, the stylus 1002 may be taken outfrom the accommodating groove 1001, and may be pushed into theaccommodating groove 1001 after the user finishes using the stylus 1002.The stylus 1002 may be a touch stylus. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 12 ,another component may be placed in the area whose thickness is thesecond thickness value on the rear of a first display subarea 211 of anelectronic device 200. For example, a handwriting tool in a formdifferent from that in FIG. 11 , or another accessory such as a wirelessheadset is placed in the area whose thickness is the second thicknessvalue. Optionally, a thickness of the accommodating groove and athickness of a corresponding accessory may be greater than a firstthickness value.

In a possible implementation, another component may be integratedinto/placed on the protrusion part on the rear of the first displaysubarea 211 of the electronic device 200. The protruding part on therear of the first display subarea 211 of the electronic device 200 hasrelatively large space. In addition to a camera, for example, one, two,three, four, or more cameras, other components such as a flash, anantenna, a button, or a microphone may be placed. The button may includea power button or a volume button, or may include another button. Thebutton may be disposed in the first rear subarea 213, or may be disposedon a side edge of the protruding part. The antenna may include anantenna for receiving and sending a mobile communications networksignal, or may include an antenna for a short-range communicationsnetwork, such as WiFi, NFC, near field communication (near fieldcommunication), or Bluetooth.

In a possible implementation, another component whose thickness ishigher than the first thickness value may be integrated into/placed onthe protrusion part on the rear of the first display subarea 211 of theelectronic device 200, to reduce/avoid another protrusion part. Forexample, all devices whose thickness values are greater than the firstthickness value may be integrated into the protrusion part on the rearof the first display subarea 211 of the electronic device 200.

“One embodiment” or “an embodiment” mentioned throughout thisspecification does not mean that particular features, structures, orcharacteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least oneembodiment of the present invention. Therefore, “in one embodiment” or“in an embodiment” appearing throughout the specification does not referto a same embodiment. In addition, these particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or moreembodiments by using any appropriate manner.

The term “and/or” in this specification describes only an associationrelationship for describing associated objects and represents that threerelationships may exist. For example, A and/or B may represent thefollowing three cases: Only A exists, both A and B exist, and only Bexists. In addition, the character “/” in this specification usuallyindicates an “or” relationship between the associated objects.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, in combinationwith the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in thisspecification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented byelectronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronichardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or softwaredepends on particular applications and design constraint conditions ofthe technical solutions. A person skilled in the art may use differentmethods to implement the described functions for each particularapplication, but it should not be considered that the implementationgoes beyond the scope of this application.

It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, forthe purpose of convenient and brief description, for a detailed workingprocess of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to acorresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments. Details arenot described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should beunderstood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may beimplemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatusembodiment is merely an example. For example, the unit division ismerely logical function division and may be other division in actualimplementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may becombined or integrated into another system, or some features may beignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutualcouplings or direct couplings or communication connections may beimplemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings orcommunication connections between the apparatuses or units may beimplemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units,may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality ofnetwork units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actualrequirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of theembodiments.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of this application maybe integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may existalone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

When the functions are implemented in the form of a software functionalunit and sold or used as an independent product, the functions may bestored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such anunderstanding, the technical solutions of this application essentially,or the part contributing to the prior art, or some of the technicalsolutions may be implemented in a form of a software product. Thecomputer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includesseveral instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be apersonal computer, a server, or a network device) to perform all or someof the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of thisapplication. The foregoing storage medium includes any medium that canstore program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, aread-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), a random access memory (RandomAccess Memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of thisapplication, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of thisapplication. Any variation or replacement readily figured out by aperson skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in thisapplication shall fall within the protection scope of this application.Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject tothe protection scope of the claims.

1. An electronic device comprising: a foldable display comprising a first display portion and a second display portion; a processor coupled to the foldable display; a memory coupled to the processor and configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to: detect a folding status of the electronic device; and control at least one of the first display portion or the second display portion to display content based on the folding status of the electronic device.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the status of the electronic device includes a folding status of the first display portion and a folding status of the second display portion.
 3. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising the instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the electronic device to: detect that a folding status of the electronic device is a half-unfolded state; and control the first display portion and the second display portion to simultaneously display a same content.
 4. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising the instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the electronic device to: detect that a folding status of the electronic device is a half-unfolded state; control the first display portion and the second display portion to alternatively display different contents.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising the instructions that, when executed by the processor, further cause the electronic device to: control the first display portion to display a graphic user interface of a first application; and control the second display portion to display a graphic user interface of a second application, wherein the first application is different from the second application.
 6. An electronic device comprising: a foldable display including a first display portion and a second display portion; a shaft disposed between the first display portion and the second display portion, the first display portion and the second display portion being configured to rotate about the shaft with respect to each other to fold or unfold the foldable display; and a camera disposed in a sub-area of the first display portion, the sub-area of the first display portion having a thickness equal to a thickness of the electronic device when the foldable display is folded.
 7. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the camera is disposed on a rear side of the sub-area of the first display portion, and when the foldable display is unfolded, the camera is a rear-facing camera.
 8. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the camera is disposed on a front side of the sub-area of the first display portion, and when the foldable display is folded, the camera is a front-facing camera.
 9. The electronic device according to claim 6, further comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: select at least one of the first display portion or the second display portion to display content according to an instruction entered by a user; display a picture on the first display portion when the electronic device is in the folded state, wherein the picture is taken by the camera; detect a tap on a switching button displayed on the first display portion; and switch the displayed picture from the first display portion to the second display portion in response to detecting the tap on the switch button.
 10. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein when the foldable display is folded, a ratio of an area of the first display portion to an area of a second end face of the electronic device on which the first display portion is located is greater than a second screen-to-body ratio.
 11. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein: an area of the first display portion is greater than an area of the second display portion; when the foldable display is folded, the camera is located in a first rear subarea of the first display portion; and the rear of the first display portion comprises the first rear subarea and a second rear subarea, wherein the first rear subarea comprises an area that is on the rear of the first display portion and that does not overlap the rear of the second display portion, and the second rear subarea comprises an area that is on the rear of the first display portion and that overlaps the rear of the second display portion.
 12. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein: the shaft is further configured to hold the foldable display in a half-unfolded state, when the foldable display is in the half-unfolded state, a first side edge of the first display portion and a second side edge of the second display portion are configured to provide support to the electronic device, and the first side edge and the second side edge are two separate side edges.
 13. The electronic device according to claim 6, further comprising: a detection module configured to detect folding and unfolding of the foldable display, and a spatial relationship between the first display portion and the second display portion; and a processing module configured to control at least one of the first display portion and the second display portion to display a picture based on the folding or unfolding of the foldable display.
 14. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein when the foldable display is folded, the first display portion is front facing, the second display portion is rear facing, and the processing module is configured to control the first display portion to display the picture.
 15. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein when the foldable display is folded, the second display portion is front facing, the first display portion is rear facing, and the processing module is configured to control the second display portion to display the picture.
 16. The electronic device according to claim 6, wherein a length of the shaft is less than or equal to a long side of the electronic device and is smaller than or equal to a width of the electronic device when the foldable display is folded. 